Native Plant Love: What does a paper birch tree and your iphone have in common?

Sometimes, I wonder if nature and technology are duelling forces… if the presence of an iPhone, for example, while on a walk in the woods, somehow comes between me and the experience of being in Nature. But, I’ve sometimes taken a photo of something I didn’t recognise and posted it on facebook, where several of my savvy friends offered identification tips. So, in that case, technology brought me closer to Nature.

The paper birch was a technology tree for the Lil’wat Nation… making me realise that it’s not a question of Nature vs technology. All our technology comes from or is inspired by nature, really. It’s more about listening. And paying attention. Some tools help us do that. And some get in the way. And some do both, or either, depending on the day.